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One and a half million medical papers reveal a link between author gender and attention to gender and sex analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Mathias Wullum Nielsen

    (Stanford University)

  • Jens Peter Andersen

    (Aarhus University)

  • Londa Schiebinger

    (Stanford University)

  • Jesper W. Schneider

    (Aarhus University)

Abstract

Gender and sex analysis is increasingly recognized as a key factor in creating better medical research and health care 1–7 . Using a sample of more than 1.5 million medical research papers, our study examined the potential link between women’s participation in medical science and attention to gender-related and sex-related factors in disease-specific research. Adjusting for variations across countries, disease topics and medical research areas, we compared the participation of women authors in studies that do and do not involve gender and sex analysis. Overall, our results show a robust positive correlation between women’s authorship and the likelihood of a study including gender and sex analysis. These findings corroborate discussions of how women’s participation in medical science links to research outcomes, and show the mutual benefits of promoting both the scientific advancement of women and the integration of gender and sex analysis into medical research.

Suggested Citation

  • Mathias Wullum Nielsen & Jens Peter Andersen & Londa Schiebinger & Jesper W. Schneider, 2017. "One and a half million medical papers reveal a link between author gender and attention to gender and sex analysis," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 1(11), pages 791-796, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nathum:v:1:y:2017:i:11:d:10.1038_s41562-017-0235-x
    DOI: 10.1038/s41562-017-0235-x
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    1. Sara Dada & Kim Robin van Daalen & Alanna Barrios-Ruiz & Kai-Ti Wu & Aidan Desjardins & Mayte Bryce-Alberti & Alejandra Castro-Varela & Parnian Khorsand & Ander Santamarta Zamorano & Laura Jung & Grac, 2022. "Challenging the “old boys club” in academia: Gender and geographic representation in editorial boards of journals publishing in environmental sciences and public health," PLOS Global Public Health, Public Library of Science, vol. 2(6), pages 1-23, June.
    2. Kim, Lanu & Smith, Daniel Scott & Hofstra, Bas & McFarland, Daniel A., 2022. "Gendered knowledge in fields and academic careers," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(1).
    3. Alexander D VanHelene & Ishaani Khatri & C Beau Hilton & Sanjay Mishra & Ece D Gamsiz Uzun & Jeremy L Warner, 2024. "Inferring gender from first names: Comparing the accuracy of Genderize, Gender API, and the gender R package on authors of diverse nationality," PLOS Digital Health, Public Library of Science, vol. 3(10), pages 1-15, October.
    4. Baron, Justus & Ganglmair, Bernhard & Persico, Nicola & Simcoe, Timothy & Tarantino, Emanuele, 2024. "Representation is not sufficient for selecting gender diversity," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(6).
    5. Antonio De Nicola & Gregorio D’Agostino, 2021. "Assessment of gender divide in scientific communities," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(5), pages 3807-3840, May.
    6. Junhanlu Zhang & Rachel Torchet & Hanna Julienne, 2023. "Gender-based disparities and biases in science: An observational study of a virtual conference," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 18(6), pages 1-18, June.
    7. Marta Jiménez Carrillo & Unai Martín & Amaia Bacigalupe, 2023. "Gender Inequalities in Publications about COVID-19 in Spain: Authorship and Sex-Disaggregated Data," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-10, January.
    8. Anne Laure Humbert & Elisabeth Anna Guenther & Jörg Müller, 2021. "Not Simply ‘Counting Heads’: A Gender Diversity Index for the Team Level," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 157(2), pages 689-707, September.
    9. Shihao Wei & Christopher J. Boudreaux & Zhongfeng Su & Zhan Wu, 2024. "Natural disasters, personal attributes, and social entrepreneurship: an attention-based view," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 62(4), pages 1409-1427, April.
    10. Gita Ghiasi & Catherine Beaudry & Vincent Larivière & Carl St-Pierre & Andrea Schiffauerova & Matthew Harsh, 2021. "Who profits from the Canadian nanotechnology reward system? Implications for gender-responsible innovation," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(9), pages 7937-7991, September.
    11. Smith, Thomas Bryan & Vacca, Raffaele & Krenz, Till & McCarty, Christopher, 2021. "Great minds think alike, or do they often differ? Research topic overlap and the formation of scientific teams," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 15(1).
    12. Sperber, Sonja & Täuber, Susanne & Post, Corinne & Barzantny, Cordula, 2023. "Gender Data Gap and its impact on management science — Reflections from a European perspective," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 2-8.
    13. Aron Laxdal, 2023. "The sex gap in sports and exercise medicine research: who does research on females?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 128(3), pages 1987-1994, March.
    14. David Ardia & Keven Bluteau & Mohammad‐Abbas Meghani, 2024. "Thirty years of academic finance," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(3), pages 1008-1042, July.
    15. Mancuso, Raffaele & Rossi-Lamastra, Cristina & Franzoni, Chiara, 2023. "Topic choice, gendered language, and the under-funding of female scholars in mission-oriented research," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(6).
    16. Claudia T Riche & Lindsey K Reif & Natalie T Nguyen & G Rinu Alakiu & Grace Seo & Jyoti S Mathad & Margaret L McNairy & Alexandra A Cordeiro & Aarti Kinikar & Kathleen F Walsh & Marie Marcelle Descham, 2023. "“Mobilizing our leaders”: A multi-country qualitative study to increase the representation of women in global health leadership," PLOS Global Public Health, Public Library of Science, vol. 3(1), pages 1-16, January.
    17. Jens Peter Andersen & Serge P. J. M. Horbach & Tony Ross-Hellauer, 2024. "Through the secret gate: a study of member-contributed submissions in PNAS," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 129(9), pages 5673-5687, September.
    18. Lori van den Hurk & Sarah Hiltner & Sabine Oertelt-Prigione, 2022. "Operationalization and Reporting Practices in Manuscripts Addressing Gender Differences in Biomedical Research: A Cross-Sectional Bibliographical Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-13, November.
    19. repec:osf:osfxxx:3agxf_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Rebecca K. Rechlin & Tallinn F. L. Splinter & Travis E. Hodges & Arianne Y. Albert & Liisa A. M. Galea, 2022. "An analysis of neuroscience and psychiatry papers published from 2009 and 2019 outlines opportunities for increasing discovery of sex differences," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-14, December.
    21. Lauren A. Rivera & András Tilcsik, 2023. "Not in My Schoolyard: Disability Discrimination in Educational Access," American Sociological Review, , vol. 88(2), pages 284-321, April.
    22. Jennifer S. Williams & Jenna C. Stone & Stacey A. Ritz & Maureen J. MacDonald, 2023. "Letter to the editor: Laxdal (2023) “The sex gap in sports and exercise medicine research: who does research on females?”," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 128(7), pages 4155-4160, July.

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